Digest

Fort Lauderdale firefighters took 23 elementary school students and two adults to area hospitals Tuesday after they were sickened by a smell coming from the cafeteria.

Workers at Rock Island Elementary, in the 2300 block of Northwest 19th Street, were cleaning the grease traps in the cafeteria at the time. Hydrogen sulfide, a putrid-smelling byproduct of the waste, was pumped into at least two classrooms through air-conditioning vents, Fire Rescue Division Chief Dennis Sheehan said.

"What the kids were smelling was spoiled food products," said school district spokesman Keith Brommery. "It was like walking by a garbage dump."

The students and staff complained of nausea, and some of vomiting, Sheehan said. The rest of the school's 680 students waited in the gym at the middle school next door for about two hours until the odor had dissipated.

BROWARD COUNTY

Raccoon that bit dog tests positive for rabies

A raccoon killed last month by a Plantation dog tested positive for rabies, the Broward County Animal Care and Regulation Division announced Tuesday, and residents were reminded to wary of wild animals.

The raccoon was in the 11000 block of Southwest First Court when it attacked four dogs on Nov. 29, biting one of the dogs. All four dogs had had rabies vaccinations and were given booster shots, and the dog that was bitten was under a 45-day quarantine at its home.

Two people involved in the encounter were exposed to the raccoon's saliva and were advised to seek medical attention.

A Deerfield Beach bank robbery Tuesday afternoon sparked a chase on Interstate 95 that ended in Miami-Dade County with all three suspects in custody, a Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman said.

The chase began about 12:30 p.m. when a deputy saw a car matching the getaway vehicle used in an armed bank robbery at the Bank of America, 1862 W. Hillsboro Beach Blvd., Sheriff's Office spokesman Hugh Graf said. The three men refused to stop.

One of the men, Brian K. Henry, 22, of Opa-locka, was pinned against a light pole by a Miami-Dade Police Department squad car when he tried to get out and run, Detective Randy Rossman said. The officer could not stop in time to avoid hitting the man, Rossman said. Henry was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment. The other men, Edgar L. Paniagua, 21, and Kelvin J. Layton, 23, both of Miami, were captured after a short foot chase, Graf said.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

Ex-Camillus House chief charged with grand theft

The former executive director of Miami-Dade's largest homeless ministry was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly misusing funds and having his employees and homeless clients perform chores at two of his homes.

Dale Simpson, 58, who ran Camillus House from 1998 until his resignation earlier this year, turned himself in on Tuesday after a joint investigation by the State Attorney's Office and the Office of the Inspector General in Miami-Dade.

According to an arrest affidavit, Simpson directed Camillus House staff and homeless clients to perform at least 20 personal errands during working hours between 2000 and 2003, including building a wooden deck at one of his homes.

Simpson also allegedly used funds and credit cards from Camillus House to make 55 separate purchases, investigators said. Investigators calculated that Simpson misused close to $10,000 of Camillus House funds. He is charged with three counts of grand theft, three counts of fraudulent claims of tax exemption and one count of petit theft.